” Happy Mother’s Day, Amma”!!
I rub my eyes open blearily to the sight of two absolutely cherubic faces, beaming from ear to ear and carrying with extreme care a tray with a steaming cup of tea, a saucer with two rusks, flowers in a little jar and a napkin! Even now, the memory of it brings a warm, fuzzy feeling – imagine how i salted the tea with my tears back then! The two who created this treat for me were 7 and 3 years old respectively, with Kanch taking her fingers out of her mouth long enough to give me a grin that said – “i supported my akka through this ordeal – i woke up soooo….early – see!”
There had been much whispering the previous evening and a thickly veiled attempt at finding out my preferences – “how much sugar do you like in your tea, amma?” with the cover up following- ” how much sugar does one normally take?” so i wouldn’t get suspicious!
Many hugs and kisses followed with Kanch wanting to give me a thousand kisses (she could count up to ten so many repetitions had to happen!). Arch, being the “cool” older sibling, had to be more restrained but watched me with an eagle eye as i sipped my tea – oops!
“Very nice, bubs, how much sugar did you put in?”.
“Like you said, Amma, three quarter teaspoons – so i put in three and a quarter teaspoons”!!
I drank the rest of it heroically – it really was well made – except for the sugar! Smelled the roses and the curry leaves they had been decorated with to make a posy (aren’t they pretty, amma? – well, of course – they were the most beautiful things in the world – next to the kids!) and admired the ironed napkin.
Today, they definitely make the best tea in the world – next to my husband – who really makes THE very best tea and has been doing it for the past coming-on-to-thirty years every morning!
Here’s his contribution:
THE BEST TEA IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO PS
For one cuppa:
Boil one cup water. As it’s boiling, add 1/4 tsp BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe). Switch off and add 1 tsp Orange Pekoe leaf. Cover and let brew for 3 minutes. Strain into a warm cup. Add three quarters of a teaspoon of sugar ONLY! Add a few drops of warm milk till the colour is like a muddy river on a rainy day and …enjoy!!